


his little spider

by lavenderlotion



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Comfort No Hurt, First Kiss, Future Fic, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Out, Multi, No character bashing, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Press and Tabloids, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-02 19:50:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21166961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion
Summary: “Peter, Hulk wishes to speak with you in his quarters,” Jarvis tells him, and Peter’s stomach flips nervously.No one but he and Karen knows about his crush on the two men, and Peter is very happy for it to stay that way. His crush on Bruce is controversial enough, but it would look absolutely innocent in comparison to his feelings for Hulk, who most people think is just a mindless monster.If only they could see Hulk now, Peter thinks, stepping onto Bruce’s floor to find him spread out on the couch with something playing on the TV—probably the discovery channel—with an arm stretched over the back of the couch and his feet propped up on a bed-sized ottoman.





	his little spider

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know?? i had the random idea of _peter standing up for hulk during a press conference and then some soft flirting with bruce_ during work and came up with this?? thanks to [my favourite person in the entire world](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuguriesofInnocence) for the quick beta work, you're a gem<3

The lights are blinding even though Peter has taken to following in Dr. Stark’s footsteps and wearing a pair of sunglasses to every press event he’s forced to attend. He favours a pair that are slightly rounded and tinted blue; he thinks they contrast with the red, sharp lines of the pair Dr. Stark usually wears pretty well. The press loves taking photos of them together anyway, so they might as well look the part. The first time Peter wore a pair of sunglasses to a charity event, there was an entire news article written about how well his shades complimented Dr. Stark’s and how that symbolized their mentor/protégé dynamic.

Peter doesn't really care about all of that, but they allow Peter to get away with rolling his eyes even as he keeps his lips twisted into a very well practiced press-smile. They also block out the worst of the bright camera flashes, which helps curb the headaches they cause which even Peter's enhanced healing can't keep away. He keeps his smile in place while he listens to Loki answering a question about the origins of his power, citing a number of educational papers he's written on the topic of Seiðr since coming to earth.

Peter's read them all, even helped with some of the editing before Dr. Stark had them published. Loki is a genius with thousands of years of learning under his belt, but he's also so inured to Asgardian culture that on earth he seems very...innocent in some ways. It breaks Peter's heart a little bit every time Loki is surprised when someone does something nice for him, or goes out of their way to help him, or just speaks to him without saying anything cruel.

Ever since he returned to earth with Bruce—accompanied by tales of narrowly saving Asgard by rejecting Odin's claim of only a single solution and embracing his heritage to freeze Hela in a timeless cage of ice—he and Peter had become fast friends. It was painfully obvious Peter was Loki's  _ first _ friend, but they got along better than he'd ever gotten along with anyone save Ned, and Peter made sure that Loki always knew how much he cared about him.

Their friendship is why Peter's hands curl into tight fists when a reporter brings up Loki's decade old invasion attempt. The report questions how someone who brought fear to so many and was a villain in the eyes of so many children could possibly be accepted as an Avenger. Peter meets Harley's eyes through his own signature Iron Lad shades and they roll their eyes together. They're the “children” traumatized by Loki's Invasion, after all.

He's glad when Harley steps forward and says just that, shutting down the idiotic reporter who thinks they can go head to head with a certified genius and win an argument. Peter has no idea if Mrs. Potts is running this conference, but he really doubts it considering some of the reporters that are being called on. Mrs. Potts is excellent at maintaining a controlled chaos, and she would have never called on someone and allowed them to ask such a question.

“Mr. Parker!” Someone shouts after a moment of silence reigns following Harley's smooth verbal take down of the reporter. Peter wonders if he'll ever really get used to his identity being known after spending four years of never taking off his mask. The mask came off when he turned eighteen and signed the Accords to publicly support Iron Man, and with it a lack of privacy he never could have understood until he was forced to live with it. “Mr. Parker, how would you say your standing within the Avengers has changed now that you've come out?”

Peter does his very best to bite down on the bitter  _ rage _ that climbs up his chest at the question, reminding himself very firmly that he can't use his strength on civilians, especially reporters, and that these press conferences are  _ good _ for the team in the long run. They keep the members human and they keep the public involved in a way that works to hold their heroes accountable. Much of what happened with the Accords and the mess that followed was because the old team was so used to  _ not _ answering for their actions that when a hundred and seventeen countries came together and asked them to, it seemed outrageous—at least, to certain members.

Taking a deep breath, Peter reminds himself why he came out and all the good that it has done. He reminds himself of the tweets from kids telling him he's given them the courage to be themselves, the spider-emblem pride flags he's seen hanging around New York, the stories from  _ little kids _ telling him they're his favourite hero because he's strong enough to be honest with the world. “I'm not sure I understand the implication of your question,” he says through clenched teeth and a strained smile.

“Surely the way you get on with the other members of the team has been affected by your announcement. I'm just wondering if you would provide insight on those changes so we can continue to understand the group dynamics present among the Avengers?”

“Ah, I understand now. Well, I would say the most significant change is how much freer I feel around the people I love. Unmasking myself was such a large step, but I hadn't realized how much of a mask I was still wearing until I was honest with my team. My bisexuality, as I've mentioned, was something I struggled with for a number of years. Being accepted with open, loving arms made it so much easier to accept and love myself, and I am incredibly grateful for every bit of support I have received since I came out.” 

“So...I see. Well, what about any changes that haven't been as pleasant?” The report asks awkwardly, stumbling over his words. 

“As of today, the first unpleasant experience regarding my sexuality has been this line of questioning.”

The reporter goes to say something else, but he’s thankfully cut off by whoever is running the show. It’s obviously not Mrs. Potts, because she would have  _ never _ let a line of questioning like that take place. Peter takes a deep breath and tries to let the agitation roll off him, but it seems to be for naught when the next reporter pipes up. 

“Dr. Banner! Dr. Banner, are you aware of the reports that have been circling calling for the retirement of the Hulk? How do you respond to the allegations that the creature is more dangerous than it is helpful?”

Peter steps forward while the faceless reporter takes a deep breath. He focuses his senses until he finds the face in the crowd, and he isn't surprised when it's an older man. His hands are shaking at his side as he makes direct eye contact through the tinted lenses of his glasses. His anger is sharper than when hateful words were directed at himself, but Peter has always known that he cares more about the ones he loves than he does about himself, and Hulk, despite every valid, sensible reason he shouldn't, is someone that Peter loves.

Peter takes another deep breath, eyes boring into the man speaking and watching as a bead of sweat rolls down his forehead. Peter hopes he's nervous.

“Hulk is an Avenger and a treasured,  _ trusted _ member of our team. He is a hero, with a higher rescue rate than the entirety of the Saviours,” a ridiculous name for a ridiculous team, but Steve Rogers has never known when to leave well enough alone and he's never taken well to Tony Stark coming out on top, “have as a collective group. I've done the research, I've read the seedy blog posts and seen the websites where these things are recorded. I would implore you, sir, to do your own research before you run your mouth about things that simply are not true.”

Silence reigns out following Peter's words. He takes another deep breath, ensures his face is still smiling somewhat kindly, and then says, “Hulk is a kindhearted and gentle man. I understand the perception that he is nothing more than a raging beast, but I would like to suggest that everyone takes a moment to think of  _ why _ that is the largely accepted perception of him. Take a moment to think of the environment Hulk was born into and then released from—think of the testing, the experiments, and then the hunting. General Ross is in prison, and largely for the crimes he committed against both Hulk and Bruce Banner. Take a moment to think of how  _ you _ would react if you were being hunted by the army, and how  _ you _ would react if the soldiers chasing after you shot first and asked questions never? Do a single one of you honestly believe you could hope to be better?”

Peter says nothing else, and silence reigns again. Whoever the hell is running this conference—which will probably be their last, if Peter knows Mrs. Potts—announces that it’s over. Peter has never been so glad to leave a press event before, not even the charity events he has to wear stiff suits to. He rushes out, immediately flanked by Harley and Loki, and uses his size to weave through security personnel, doing his best to leave the conference behind both physically and mentally. 

* * *

“Peter, Hulk wishes to speak with you in his quarters,” Jarvis tells him, and Peter’s stomach flips nervously. 

Getting Jarvis back had been a combined effort of Vision, Loki, Shuri—who, unlike her kingly brother, had not been so enthusiastic about hosting super powered criminals in her country—and Jarvis himself, hidden away in well-kept and scarily secure servers. An endeavor that had brought Dr. Stark back to life in a way none of them had been able to. 

It was a relief the first time Peter walked into the workshop to find Dr. Stark laughing away and teasing Jarvis, and it was the first day Peter had felt  _ hope _ since the Avengers fell apart. 

Now, Jarvis is all over the tower. Peter thinks he’s great, and since Friday got to stick around, he’s nothing but happy that Dr. Stark’s beloved AI is back. Peter snaps himself out of his thoughts when the AI says his name again, mumbling something in return and hurrying from his room into the elevator. Dr. Stark had  _ insisted _ that Peter move in when he went to college, and somehow that turned into May moving in too, so now they share a floor. It’s really great, since May now works in Stark Tower’s hospital and makes way more than she ever did at the General  _ and _ likes her job more.

Yeah, Peter is pretty sure that Dr. Stark is a sneaky sneak who sneakily makes everyone’s lives better, but Peter really likes to think that they all do little things that make Dr. Stark’s life better too so it all sort of evens out in the end. 

Peter’s thoughts wander once again as the elevator dings. When Bruce had come back, from  _ space, _ Tony had built him an entire floor and asked him to move in. Peter hadn’t really known a lot about Bruce at the time, since he left before Peter even entered the picture, but he knew of his achievements. Working with Dr. Stark was amazing but working with Dr. Stark  _ and _ Dr. Bruce Banner was just...whoa. It was crazy. 

Peter had been on Bruce’s floor a bunch of times. It was different from his, mainly because the ceilings were crazy high and while half of the furniture was pretty normal, the other half was supersized. Peter had learned pretty early on that Hulk liked being around just as much as Bruce did, and Peter had gotten really, really close with both of them.

Which is why he defended them earlier. No one but he and Karen knows about his crush on the two men, and Peter is very happy for it to stay that way. His crush on Bruce is controversial enough, but it would look absolutely innocent in comparison to his feelings for Hulk, who most people think is just a mindless monster.

If only they could see Hulk now, Peter thinks, stepping onto Bruce’s floor to find him spread out on the couch with something playing on the TV—probably the discovery channel—with an arm stretched over the back of the couch and his feet propped up on a bed-sized ottoman.

Peter takes a moment to just...look, taking in the strong lines of muscle that are still clear under the t-shirt and basketball shorts Hulk has donned for the evening, pretending that he doesn’t notice just how handsome he is with his strong jaw, straight nose, and thick brows. After giving himself just a few heartbeats, he looks away and wills himself to stop blushing. 

“Hey big guy,” Peter greets as happily as he can. It’s not that he  _ doesn’t _ want to see Hulk, he’s just not sure why Hulk would want to see him. Sure, they hang out every now and then—not nearly as much as Peter would like, unfortunately—but not usually this late or after something as stressful as the press conference they went through. He would have thought that Bruce would insist on being at the forefront just so they could decompress.

Hulk  _ hates _ that so many people are scared of him, a sentiment that he and Peter share. The misconception that Hulk is nothing but a monster kills him, and he also knows that it kills Bruce, kills him even more that he also thought it for so long. The two of them are much closer than they used to be, according to Dr. Stark, which Peter thinks is pretty cool. 

“Tiny spider,” Hulk says warmly, and a smile lights up his face and makes him look nothing like the monster people want so badly to label him as. He pats the cushion next to him with the hand that isn’t stretched over the couch, and Peter finally pushes himself out of the elevator and makes his way to the far side of the room under Hulk’s heavy eyes. 

He’s used to Hulk watching him, but it always makes something heavy form inside his chest. Peter has never dated anyone before, and other than that one failed homecoming with Liz and a little bit of fun, playful flirting with Loki that he would have totally pursued if it wasn’t obvious Loki was totally in love with his pseudo-brother, Peter had zero experience dealing with people that he likes. 

Which is why he’s totally awkward and blushes, like he does every single time Hulk calls him  _ little spider. _ He  _ is _ a little spider, seeing as everyone is little compared to Hulk. Hulk smiles even wider when Peter climbs up onto the couch and settles himself on the giant cushion. They’ve watched TV together a few times before, so this really isn’t anything new, but Peter can’t get past the nervous fluttering in his chest. 

They sit silently for a little while until Hulk shifts and looks down at him. Peter watches the TV for a few minutes, but eventually gets weighed down by Hulk’s eyes on him and looks back up at him. There’s something in Hulk’s eyes that Peter isn’t sure he’s ever seen before and can’t name. 

“Hey, are you okay, Hulk?” he asks softly, not sure how the bigger man will react. Hulk doesn’t always like talking, and Peter knows that his difficulty with words really upsets him at times. 

“Hulk has secret to tell you,” the big guy says seriously. Peter sits up a little straighter under the heavy tone in his voice and heavier look on his face. 

“Alright, Hulk. You can tell me anything,” Peter promises him, trying to smile as softly as he can while his heart races inside his chest. 

“Love you, little spider,” Hulk tells him very seriously. Peter nods, ignores how his heart aches, and says, “I love you too, big guy. You’re one of my best friends.”

“No,” the word is said with so much force and obvious frustration that Peter almost flinches back, might have if there was a single ounce of fear inside his entire body towards Hulk. “No, Hulk  _ love _ little spider. Hulk want little spider to be  _ his _ little spider.”

“Hulk,” Peter breathes, raising himself onto his knees so the space between them doesn’t feel quite as vast. Hulk leans down as well, and Peter can’t find it in himself to keep his arm down and instead reaches out. His fingers slide over the tough skin of Hulk’s chin as he sinks even deeper into the touch, looking a little ridiculous as he cranes his neck so Peter can reach easier. “Do you...really?”

“Really,” Hulk tells him, sliding his arm down from around the couch and wrapping his forearm around Peter’s back to tug him in. Peter laughs even as he has to grab onto Hulk’s forearm and bring his legs up, smiling stupidly when Hulk decides to just pick him up and deposit him on his chest. “Little spider belongs here,” Hulk tells him, tapping the left side of his chest. 

Peter blinks back tears and rubs the area Hulk had tapped, feeling the fast beating of his heart and feeling marginally better knowing that he isn’t the only one who’s nervous. It takes a bit of sticking to stay where he is, staring into Hulk’s gold-ringed eyes and trying to remind himself every reason he’s given himself as to why he  _ shouldn’t _ have this. 

But Hulk is asking for it. Hulk, whose heart is racing and whose eyes are glittering, and whose smile is the softest thing that Peter has ever seen. Without another thought as to why he  _ shouldn’t, _ Peter leans in and presses a chaste kiss against Hulk’s bottom lip, ignoring just how overwhelmed he feels at the sudden flood of arousal with the reminder of just how  _ big  _ Hulk is—he  _ is _ a twenty-year-old boy, after all. 

Hulk kisses him back, pursing his lips and kissing about half of Peter’s face in a way that has him roaring with laughter, petting down Hulk’s cheek so the man doesn’t think Peter is laughing at him. Hulk grumbles a little, his hand so, so gently pressing against Peter’s back and urging him back in. 

They share a number of sweet kisses that all make Peter’s heart feel too big for his skinny chest. Hulk’s fingers hold him gently as they keep kissing softly. Peter feels like he’s floating on a fucking cloud, and he keeps having to pull back to laugh stupidly, joyously, which causes Hulk to laugh too. 

Eventually, Peter leans all the way back and spends countless minutes counting the strips of gold that line Hulk’s iris as the big guy stares right back at him and holds him still a top his chest. It’s the happiest Peter has ever been, but...as selfish as it might be, he thinks he could be happier. 

“Hulk I...I love you too,” Peter says when he realizes he never said the words, caught off guard when Hulk’s face shutters and he says, “No buts! You love Hulk with no buts!”

“I was just going to say that I love Bruce as well,” Peter explains gently, his voice catching. It’s...not quite a surprise that Hulk thought he was going to say something like that, but it still hurts. Peter knows that Hulk expects people to hate him, and he vows to  _ always _ be there for him. 

“Love Bruce?”

“Yeah, big guy. I love both of you,” Peter tells him softly, “I love both of you a lot.”

“Bruce loves little spider too!” Hulk cheers, loud enough that Peter’s ears ring for a second before his healing kicks in. He laughs with Hulk, and asks, “Would it be okay if Bruce told me that himself? I would really like to hear it from him, too?”

Hulk nods rapidly, and then before Peter can move Hulk is shrinking, skin paling, until Bruce is sitting under him and swimming in clothing. Peter laughs at the fond look on his face, dutifully ignoring that he’s now straddling Bruce’s lap as the older man looks up at him with a smile Peter’s never seen on his face before. 

God, it’s gorgeous.  _ Bruce _ is gorgeous. Hulk is so attractive because he’s a blown-up, rugged version of Bruce. Peter has never tired of admiring Bruce, though he’s never been able to stare at the other man as openly as he is now. It’s heady, being able to look and knowing that Bruce is looking right back. 

In an act of unfamiliar bravery—well not  _ totally _ unfamiliar, because he  _ is  _ Spider-Man—he gently rests his hands on Bruce’s shoulders, trailing them in towards his neck and says, “So Hulk just told me something pretty interesting.”

“He did, did he?” Bruce asks, slowly reaching out and grabbing hold of Peter’s thighs. He makes a little noise in the back of his throat, slightly overwhelmed when heat races through his body and gets warmer the higher Bruce's’ hands get. “Hulk told me something pretty interesting too, Pete.”

Peter doesn’t say anything else, still feeling high on Hulk’s love, and he leans in and kisses Bruce just as softly as he kissed Hulk. It feels so different, especially because it’s his first kiss with someone with lips the same size as his own. Unlike when he kisses Hulk, their lips fit together perfectly, and Peter can’t hold in a weak moan when Bruce grabs his top lip between both of his and gives a little, barely-there suck.

He pulls back enough to rest their foreheads together, because any more and he’ll start humping Bruce’s stomach like a complete tool. Bruce’s breath is warm against his lips, and his voice is so very sweet when he says, “I love you too, Peter.”

Peter laughs, another stupid giggle that Bruce echos with something deeper, and Peter kisses him again, and then kisses him again and again because after  _ months  _ of wanting he finally can. Bruce kisses him back, his shadowing of stubble catching on Peter’s chin and making him shiver, and Peter’s voice is barely a whisper when he manages to say, “I love you, so, so much.”

**Author's Note:**

> my lovely beta told me "the size kink feels are real" and i felt SO CALLED OUT bc it wasn't even intentional LMAO  
let me know if you would want to see more in this 'verse!  
comments and kudos are much appreciated!   
come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://lavender-lotion.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
